Depression does not increase stroke risk for seniors, study finds

While depression is associated with a dramatic increase in the risk of stroke in the under-65 crowd, it does not pose such a risk among people older than 65, a new study found.

People younger than age 65 with high levels of depressive symptoms were four times more likely to suffer a stroke or mini-stroke than study participants with a low level of depressive symptoms, researchers at Boston University found. But the stroke risk was unrelated to the presence of depressive symptoms among people older than 65, according to researchers who followed 4,120 subjects for up to eight years.